


More than Meets the Eyes

by fiction_enthusiast_1990



Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TV 2003), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - All Media Types
Genre: Brotherly Bonding, Guilt, I'm sitting here adding tags for fun, Papa Splinter in action, Pent-up Frustration Finally Released, Stressed Donnie
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-27
Updated: 2015-07-30
Packaged: 2018-04-11 12:03:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 20,005
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4434755
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fiction_enthusiast_1990/pseuds/fiction_enthusiast_1990
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Summary: When Michelangelo accidentally breaks Donatello's latest invention, which he has worked very hard on, Splinter goes to the lab to talk to his dejected son. However, the rat is in for a surprise when he comes to learn about his genius and quiet son's well hidden thoughts and emotions about his place within the ninja clan.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is a small fluff piece of writing I wrote up and posted on fanfiction.net a year ago, under the still active username sonicfan1990. I hope you will enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. Thank you for your time and attention.

**Chapter 1:** An Ordinary Day

It was a warm and beautiful day in the city of New York. The sun was shining brightly, its warm ray of life reflected by the various window panes of the numerous skyscrapers in the city, and the weather was absolutely perfect with no sign of it changing for the worse any time soon.

On the streets, the inhabitants of the great city were casually tending to their daily business like every other day. Everything was perfectly normal in the city of New York…as well as under it.

Underneath the busy and lively city life above, there was an unusual family inhabiting the inside the darkness of the sewers, a family that greatly differed from everything one could ever start to imagine – a family consisting of four mutant ninja turtles and one mutant master rat.

They were powerful warriors of the night who fought against the forces of evil to protect the innocent. Despite their countless heroic deeds, they were unknown, not even thought to exist by the majority of people, for they were ninjas – warriors who fought side by side with the shadows and faded into the darkness of the night without leaving any trace of their existence behind.

As the inhabitants of the New York were keeping themselves busy above ground, the stealthy turtles were also spending their time in their own ways, trying their very best to keep themselves distracted with various activities until the night, their domain, fell upon the life above.

It was a day like any other for the turtles inside their home, and nothing was out of the ordinary. They had just finished yet another rigorous training session the Master Splinter had conducted earlier that day and were finished for the time being.

Right after the ninjutsu master signaled the end of training, Michelangelo, the youngest and most fun-loving member of the four brother turtles, all but bolted out of the dojo at a speed that the others deemed unconceivable, all the while yelling things that made sense to him alone. On his way out, the excited turtle-shaped bounce ball accidentally bumped into his red clad brother and almost knocked him over.

"Darn it, Mikey!" Raphael, the red clad powerhouse with an extremely short fuse of the team, yelled angrily after his perpetually energetic sibling, "Watch where you're bouncing, will ya!"

Mikey, on the other hand, didn't even pay attention to his hot-headed brother. Instead, he jumped on the couch and instantly grabbed the remote, turning on a superhero cartoon that he loved and watched it with undivided attention, oblivious to everything around the Lair.

"I do wish Michelangelo would be as focused on his training as he is right now on this rather unproductive pastime. He can go so much further if he devotes himself more" Splinter said with a sigh as he stepped out of the dojo and looked at his youngest child. However, his other sons didn't fail to notice a tiny smile that the aged master had on his face.

"I believe that wish is somewhat far-fetched, master Splinter" Leonardo, the oldest and the leader in blue of the four-turtle ninja team, said to his father with a slight shake of his head.

"I believe the correct word should be "unattainable". Asking Mikey to stay focused on something like training is pretty much the same as asking ordinary pigs to suddenly grow wings and fly" commented Donatello, the purple clad genius, medic, and inventor of the household, "And as far as I'm concerned, that is not possible on Earth."

"Hey, shell-brain, get yer hands off da remote, I wanna watch my match right now" Raph yelled again and headed toward the couch.

"Sorry Raphie boy, this seat is reserved for the day" Mikey retorted, not glancing away from his show.

"Oh yeah, yer shell is gonna be reserved fer my feet fer the next five hours if ya don't drop da blasted thing in the next five seconds" Raph threatened, but his words had little to no effect on his stubborn sibling.

True to his threat, the brute turtle then lunged for his orange clad brother to get the remote forcibly. As a result, a rather violent fight broke out shortly afterward between Mikey and Raph, their screams completely breaking the tranquility of the sewers. If one didn't know better, he would consider the act of Raph holding his brother in a tight headlock an act of child abuse. However, for the turtles and their aged rat father, it was a daily occurrence that they had long gotten accustomed to.

"How soon do you think Mikey will give up this time?" Leo asked his calmer, and more serene brother next to him.

"Well, I'd say ten minutes" Donnie replied as he watched the two turtles in question wrestle one another on the floor for their remote, "More or less?"

"Less" Leo replied decisively after studying the wrestling match for a while with watchful and analytical eyes, searching for every detail that indicated when the youngest sibling would inevitably forfeit his "precious".

"Deal!" Donnie said again with a grin on his face and shook his brother's hand.

After nine minutes and fifty agonizing seconds, Mikey, having been caught in another grappling maneuver, ultimately tapped and let Raph take his spoils. In front of the dojo's steps, the blue and purple clad ninjas settled their friendly bet, with Donnie reluctantly giving his elder sibling a ten-dollar bill.

"I'll win next time around" Donnie said light-heatedly with a mock annoyance in his tone, which Leo knew really well.

"Sorry Donnie, you may be able to wipe the floor with me when it comes to chess and Go (a board game), but when it comes to my own team, I know best" Leo replied with a smile on his face, which Donatello instantly returned with a friendly one of his own.

"Fair enough. Well, I need to finish a project of mine in the lab, see you at lunch…or at dinner…or maybe until patrol…." Donnie said, his voice getting softer and softer toward the end of his sentence, before turning around and quickly heading for his proud haven within the lair.

"Better make that lunch, genius" Leo said sternly, knowing full well how entranced and tuned-out his intelligent brother normally got when he was locked inside his lab. The oldest turtle watched the retreating form of his quiet and calm brother for a while longer before turning around to address Splinter.

"Sensei, if you don't mind…" he began, but stopped in mid sentence when e realized the aged rat had already vanished at some point during their bet, and the most amazing part was that he had been standing in front of them the whole time.

"Wow, he still hasn't lost his touch" Leo whispered to himself before walking back into his room to meditate, an activity the he did to keep his mind focused and also block out the noises and ruckus that his two rowdy brothers were making in the living room.

Yep, it was nothing short of a perfectly ordinary day for the unusual family of mutants underneath the busy city life of New York city.

…

After leaving the noisy living room, Donatello was now safely locked inside his haven within the lair, immersed entirely by everything scientific and mechanical. Though he enjoyed spending time with his brothers, the resident genius loved putting his brain to good use and coming up with various things that could potentially make their family more comfortable inside the sewers.

Truth to be told, the lair wouldn't even be functional without Donnie around to constantly keep it up and running. Ever since he was a young turtle tot, the silent ninja had been gifted with a mind that far exceeded even the most brilliant of men's, and with that incredible intellect, he had managed to, at a tender age of five, create various household appliances for his brothers and father from the scavenged junk and thrown away parts around the sewers.

As to be expected, the other turtles and the aged rat had greatly appreciated his efforts when they first discovered his knack for inventing. Donnie had initially started out with small things like an old radio, a compact fan, and some simple toys for his brothers shortly before moving on to more complex and necessary things like the heaters, the air conditioners, the refrigerator, the water systems, power lines, the TV, etc. Thanks to his initiative and hard work, the hostile sewers had been wholly converted into an unimaginably comfortable place that all five mutants could proudly call their home.

For that reason, the other grateful family members had unanimously decided to reward Donnie, on his sixth birthday, with the largest unused room inside their lair at that time – the very one that would eventually become the lab and workshop he was so proud of. Needless to say, the young scientist was happy beyond belief, even to the point of uncharacteristically tackling his unsuspected siblings to the ground and hugging them warmly.

As time went by, more and more of his talents came to light, much to the shock and merit of his family. When his brothers were sick or hurt from their rough housing, he was their attentive nurse and medic. When they needed an understanding and non-judgmental ear to confide in, he was their designated confidant, and many more roles, but most dominantly among his numerous positions within the clan was the role of an inventor.

When the teenage turtles were deemed mature enough by Splinter to leave the lair and explore the topside, they immediately ran into troubles with various villains and criminal gangs, most notably the Purple Dragons and the Foot Clan, with the latter presenting more of a threat.

Since their first encounter with the hostile criminal organizations, the resident genius had been trying restlessly to come up with more and more useful creations for his family, all of which were extremely helpful in their daily grinds as well as in their struggle against the Foot Clan and its leader – a nefarious Ultrom criminal called Ch' rell that took on the mantle of Oroku Saki, a fierce feudal warrior known as the Shredder.

The other turtles knew that Donnie loved spending his time inside the lab and letting his mind work at a speed of a supercomputer, so they didn't interfere with him too much, until they deemed that the genius needed to take a break, in which case one of the brothers – normally Raph - forcibly dragged the purple-banded turtle out of his heaven by the bandana.

The other members of the small ninja clan knew very well that Donnie loved his inventions, but they didn't know the full reason behind his motivation – the reason why he spent so much of his free time surrounded by scavenged mechanical parts.

For Donatello, it was his way of proving how much he could be of service to his clan and his loved ones. In addition, he loved the moments when his brothers would show recognition – Leo's case, thrill – Raph's case, happiness – Mikey's case and appreciation for his amazing gadgets.

However, as they grew older, the brothers' displays of gratitude toward their intelligent sibling gradually decreased and became scarce; for his intelligence, though still amazing to them, had long ceased to impress the three turtles the way it had initially done in the past; but that didn't bother Donnie…much. He still wanted to whole-heartedly serve his family as best he could, to the best of his ability, even when he wouldn't receive anything in return.

"Alright, this goes here," Donatello said quietly as he tried to put the finishing touches on the wiring of his latest creation. His mutated three-fingered hands moved gracefully and nimbly around the tinier wires, fixing any problem he could spot. It truly was a sight to behold. His gestures were smooth, precise and decisive, like those of a talented maestro masterfully conducting a symphony.

All of the sudden, a spark of electricity flared up and shocked his fingers, causing Donnie to let out a surprised yelp and immediately pull his hands back. Despite his unfathomable mechanical talents, there was little he could do about the less than favorable materials and parts with which he had to make do.

"Ouch, that hurt…" Donnie commented as he shook his shocked hand and looked at his unfinished invention, spotting an open wire a second later.

"Now how did I not notice that?" he mused to himself and instantly got up to get a replacement. Once he had found what he was searching for, the purple clad genius settled down once again and continued fiddling with his project.

His concentration on his project was so great that he didn't even hear the door to his lab open. Donnie's absolute focus was only shattered abruptly when he felt a furry hand on his shoulder, which shocked him upon contact and caused the surprised turtle to swivel his chair around to look at his visitor.

"Oh…Sorry sensei…I…I didn't hear you come in…" Donnie said, his face getting red from being surprised by his own father. However, to Splinter, there was something else inside those brown chocolate eyes that he couldn't quite figure out…something akin to guilt and shame, and it was puzzling to the aged rat.

"It is alright, my son" Splinter reassured his bashful son with a stern yet kind fatherly tone, "It is I who should be sorry for not announcing my presence beforehand". However, he couldn't help but notice that his son's skin was much warmer than usual.

"It's okay, sensei. Is there anything you would like me to help with?" Donnie asked with a smile on his face.

"No, I just came in to check up on you because I heard a rather loud yelp coming from here a while ago. Is everything alright in here, my son?" Splinter asked again, seeing his son getting even redder than Raphael's bandana. Again, the aged ninjutsu master was puzzled by his son's reaction to such a simple and seemingly harmless question. He was about to ask Donnie again, but the turtle beat him to it.

"Oh, don't worry, Master Splinter, everything is perfectly fine. I just got shocked by an open wire, that's all, no harm done," Donatello said, a sheepish smile forming on his face as he looked nervously at his father.

"Is that so?" Splinter asked, raising an eye ridge at his genius son's questionable reactions. His fatherly instincts urged him to ask Donatello what was puzzling him, but his rational mind won the debate in the end. He knew full well how withdrawn Donatello normally became when pressed, so he decided to put his bewilderment to the back of his mind for the time being.

"Are you sure you didn't hurt yourself?" the rat asked again, concerned for his son's well-being.

"Oh, it's no problem, sensei. Stuff like this happen all the time, so I'm pretty much used to it by now" Donnie reassured his father with a smile. Seeing that genuine smile on his son's face, Splinter decided to let it slide for the time being.

"So then my son, please tell me what is it that has been preoccupying your mind to the point of skipping lunch and neglecting your own health" the rat asked with a stern voice, earning another sheepish smile from the turtle in question.

"Oh…has it been that late already? I haven't noticed…" the genius stammered quietly, making Splinter sigh.

"My son, I know that you have a burning passion when it comes to your art of creation, but under no circumstances should you allow your passion to serve as your own health's detriment".

"Hai, sensei" the turtle replied again.

"Now then, could you tell me what is it that you're so preoccupied with?" the rat then looked at his son's shocked face and couldn't help but feel somewhat uneasy _. 'Why is he reacting in such a manner to my simple enquiry?'_  he wondered.

"Oh…ah yes…" Donnie overcame his surprise and snapped back to reality, "I'm sorry, master Splinter, it's just that it's not often I get asked that question around here, well, at least not by someone other than April" the turtle said before cheerfully turning around to scoop up his project on his desk. Because of that movement, he failed to notice the frown on his father's face.

"Do you remember the Foot Tech Ninja we faced?" Donnie happily asked, and his father simply nodded. "Well, I've been trying my best to replicate their cloaking device and reducing its size to a small badge. So far, I've been making steady progress with my first prototype, and everything is in place."

"That is wonderful, Donatello, but if you do not mind my asking, why would you want to recreate this cloaking device?"

"Why not, sensei?" Donnie said cheerfully and held his proud creation for his father to behold, "This technology is absolutely incredible, it'll be an extremely helpful tool for us once completed. Can you imagine the various practical uses of one simple device? If I can perfect and improve Stockman's cloaking technology, we can potentially avoid a lot of direct confrontations with the Foot, the Purple Dragons, and even Bishop, sneak into the enemies' lairs undetected, or maybe camouflage the Battle Shell in plain sight without worry, or even casually stroll around the streets of New York in plain daylight without being screamed at…"

Splinter couldn't help but smile at his genius son's enthusiasm, which was really hard to resist. The ninja master had to admit, Donatello had made a valid point. This simple cloaking device would indeed save his sons a lot of trouble in combat, or maybe even help them greatly in their training to come up with counter strategies against their high-tech opponents. What Donatello had presented him was a multi-functional invention in one tiny package.

In addition, that device suited Donatello's pacifistic nature so well. It was not that he was a coward, it was more like the peaceful ninja detested all forms of violence and he would always try his best to come up with ways that could solve the problems without having resorting to brute force – a distinct contrast with Raphael. Unfortunately, all of his attempts at peace had failed miserably most of the time.

"That is an excellent invention, my son" Splinter commented with a fond smile on his face, "Once again, you have outdone yourself" he added when his eyes fell upon the various parts and pieces of metal that he considered junks. Not only had his son managed to replicate Stockman's highly advanced technology, he had done so with the thrown away and wasted materials he savaged during his routine trips to the junkyard.

"It took me a lot of time and efforts to conduct thorough research and find the suitable parts I needed, but it was worth it in the end" Donatello continued, his smile was still plastered on his face. "I'm sure the guys will be happy to see this baby in action."

At that moment, Splinter's smile dwindled somewhat. ' _Of course, it is always for "the guys" with Donatello_ " he mused, ' _Never once did I hear him say "It's a project for me"…_ '

"Sensei? Are you okay? You kind of zoned out for a while there" Donnie said, breaking his father out of his trance.

"Oh, I'm fine, my son" he quickly reassured Donnie, who nodded in acceptance and beheld his finished prototype once more.

"I think I'm going to show them this. They will be thrilled" Donnie said before running out of the lab and heading for the living room. Splinter looked at his excited son and wondered if he was really seeing Michelangelo wearing purple, not his calm and tranquil Donatello. When his son was out of the lab, the rat chuckled light-heartedly, but then, his smile faded as he took a closer look at the place. It was spacious and stacked with numerous inventions, but it looked lonely, and to think Donatello spent his days in here for hours on end…

Donatello's surprised expression came back to his mind and he once again found himself frowning at that image.  _'It's not often I get asked that question around here'_  Donnie's words echoed in his head, making his frown more pronounced.

Out of his four sons, Donatello was perhaps the most hard-working one. His oldest child and leader, Leonardo, was extremely devoted and diligent in his training and responsibilities, that was an undeniable fact, but Splinter knew that his sons, along with himself, would be completely lost without the resident genius to keep the lair from falling apart, and hearing Donatello utter those surprised words really made him feel a bit uneasy…or even guilty.

In the spacious lab, the lone rat stood still and looked at the various books, journals, blueprints, unfinished projects, etc. piling up. He knew that his sons all had a few things in common when it came to their interests –such as pizza – but Donatello's passion was perhaps the least in common with everyone in the small clan.

Mikey and Raph could easily get together and play video games from dawn to dusk, or carelessly wrestle and chase each other around the lair for hours, while he and Leonardo shared the same interests in tea, meditation and training.

But Donatello, he had nobody in the small family to share his passion with. There was hardly anyone they knew that could match his intelligence anyway. Leatherhead, a fellow mutant scientist and Donnie's personal friend, lived too far away in order to keep his wild side in check, and April, the turtles' brilliant human friend, was busy with her own life, so she couldn't afford to visit the lair everyday to talk to Donnie about science and technology. Baxter Stockman…Splinter didn't even want to go there - there was absolutely no hope for that mad man.

Inside the lab, the lone rat stood still and asked himself another question in response to his son's earlier one.

' _Are we neglecting Donatello?'_


	2. Mishap

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here's the next chapter. Enjoy!

**Chapter 2:** Mishap

Splinter's line of thoughts was then shattered when he heard his second youngest child's uncharacteristically loud and excited voice calling for his brothers to assemble in the living room. With a shake of his head to clear his lingering thoughts, the old master slowly walked toward the lab's door and watched his genius son present his latest project to his siblings.

When he was at the door, Splinter couldn't help but smile fondly at Donatello's bright smile when he was somewhat impatiently waiting for the others to arrive. Unknowingly, the rat let out a happy chuckle and decided to watch what was going to happen next from where he was so as to get a better view of his other sons' reactions.

The first to arrive was, of course, Leonardo, who was then followed by Michelangelo. Raphael arrived a moment later with a scowl on his face, a little irritated that he had to leave his wrestling match.

"What is it, Brainiac?" the short-tempered ninja asked in a less than pleasant tone, "I'm kinda in da middle of something important right now".

Splinter once again found himself frowning at his second oldest son's tone toward his little brother. His trained eyes then locked onto Donatello immediately. The purple-clad scientist appeared normal to the untrained eye, but Splinter was no amateur when it came to reading people. Even from his distance, the master ninja could see Donnie's smile falter slightly, and spot a subtle twitch of his fingers.

After that, Splinter directed his gaze toward his remaining sons, and learned that Mikey, who was trying and failing to contain his excitement, had obviously missed his immediate brother's reactions. Leo, on the other hand, seemed to have noticed, for he instantly shot Raph a glare, a gesture which the red-banded turtle readily returned.

"Raph, would it kill you to try to be more polite when you speak to others?" Leo said with annoyance, and instantly heard the turtle in question huff.

"Save yer boring lecture fer later, Fearless. Just let Brainiac here get it over and done with. I have a championship match ta watch".

"Raphael…" Leo opened his mouth again to speak some sense into the hot-headed ninja, but Donatello decided it was time to step in before things escalated.

"It's okay, Leo, I promise I'll be quick" Donnie said, his bright and gentle smile still present on his face, but Splinter could clearly see that it was not even a fraction of the one his son had shown him in the lab.

' _Perhaps I should hold a private talk with Raphael on how not to crush other people's feelings later this day_ ' the rat sighed mentally.

Raphael then settled down, albeit reluctantly, on the couch and waited for his genius brother to begin. Leo and Mikey, who seemed to be genuine interested in Donnie's project, sat down as well.

"Ahem," Donatello began like a true presenter at work, "Do you remember the Foot Tech Ninja?"

"How can anyone forget about those techno cowards?" Raph huffed, making Donnie flinch at the force of his words and consequently earning himself glares from three different pairs of eyes – two from his brothers next to him, and one from his disapproving father from afar.

Splinter shook his head and sighed.  _'That talk will take place without fail'_  he thought before looking at Donnie once again. The turtle in purple was still smiling, but at this point, he easily could tell that it was forced.

"Well, yes…" Donnie began after a while, trying his best to sound normal, but his effort was not perfect. "Anyway, I've been conducting extensive research on the technology they use and finally, I've successfully managed to create…THIS".

Donnie then took out his prototype compact cloaking device and proudly presented it to his brothers.

"A scout boy's badge?" Mikey asked in confusion as he stared at the tiny device in his brother's hand. "Uh…That's cool, I guess?"

"No, Mikey. It's not a badge. It's an improved version of their invisibility device" he continued, his voice filled with so much excitement and pride that caused Splinter to smile once again. "Not only can this baby turn anything invisible, it can make us disappear completely, undetected by any radar, heat sensor, motion sensor, etc. With this in our possession, we can easily walk in and out of Shredder's lair like we own the place".

"That's incredible, Donnie!" Leo, whose eyes lit up like the Fourth of July immediately, commented, clearly impressed by his brother's helpful invention. "Have you finished it already?"

"Actually, this is merely a prototype for the real thing. I want a field test to see how well it performs and evaluate its potential before I can turn it into a…"

"Blah, Blah, Blah…just test it already," Raph said, silencing the techno turtle entirely. Though he sounded rude, everybody knew that the short-tempered ninja was also interested in the cloaking device. However, what none of them, except master Splinter, realized was how disappointed the purple-clad genius had become after being so rudely cut off yet again. He tended to go on and on about stuff that interested him, but sadly, those were the things none of his siblings took any interest in.

"Oh…okay then," Donnie said dully before tossing Leo a heat sensor. "Alright, moment of truth…" he whispered softly before sticking the badge-sized device on his belt and pressed its surface.

In an instant, he became completely invisible, indicating a success. Although Donnie was no longer in sight, everybody in the lair could hear his triumphant cries. Splinter nodded his head proudly at his son's accomplishment and turned to survey the reactions of his other sons.

Mikey was squealing with unrestrained excitement, rambling on and on about a Martian hero, whose name Splinter could not remember, in some comic books that he read. Leo was also impressed, and he actually showed it for a change. The rat didn't need to be a psychic to realize that the family's leader and tactician was currently coming up with various possible future uses for such a wonderful device – reconnaissance, infiltration, camouflage, ambush, emergency escape, etc. Even Raph was amazed, and he was laughing loudly and joining in his genius brother's success.

Donnie, still invisible, asked Leo to put on the heat sensor to see if the device could pick up anything. The turtle in blue did as requested and to his amazement, he couldn't see anything.

"Wow, this device of yours is great, Don. You've really outdone yourself this time" Leo commented when Donnie reappeared once again.

"Thanks, Leo," he replied, his face beaming with happiness that his oldest brother had recognized him.

"Dude, that was super duper amazing!" Mikey yelled and bounced around the room, not bothering to keep his excitement down. However, Donnie wouldn't have it any other way. His brother's happiness was what he always aimed for, and he had vowed to protect his little brother's innocence no matter what.

"Yeah, ya did good, Brainiac," Raph said and threw a hand on Donnie's shoulder, pulling him close.

"Thanks, Raph. It means a lot coming from you" the bashful, but nonetheless proud, inventor replied.

He turned around and saw Splinter standing at his lab. The aged master was also giving him a warm smile, silently conveying his feelings to his son, and that was everything Donatello could ever wish for. The purple-clad ninja smiled back at his father and gave him a slight nod, a gesture that the rat returned.

…

"So, Donnie," Mikey's voice sounded in his ear, prompting Donatello to turn around and look at him.

"Yes, Mikey?"

"Can I try it out, please?" Mikey continued with his infamous pleading tone, which was further reinforced to a formidable level by his pleading facial expression – one his brothers knew and dreaded.

"Uhm…" Donnie began, unsure how to respond. "It's not complete yet, Mike…I haven't installed the protective cover yet, so it is a very delicate piece of machinery right now…"

"But Donnie, I promise I'll be extra careful with your newborn. You can totally trust me."

"First of all, I'm not married" Donnie said with an amused grin on his face, "Secondly, I do trust you, Mikey. I also really want to trust you with this, but your track records with delicate and fragile pieces of machinery don't exactly inspire much confidence".

"Oh come on, dude, I promise I'll be really, really careful with your precious child, Donnie-boy. Pretty please?" the orange-banded turtle continued on, his voice getting even sweeter than before, which Donatello found to be inconceivable.

Donnie wanted nothing more than to make his little brother happy, but his growing fear for the safety of his precious device was intensely rejecting the idea and urging him to come up with possible ways to turn his brother down, gently and politely of course.

When he glanced down to look at the proud prototype lying in his hand, even the inanimate object seemed to be screaming at him, fearfully and desperately begging him not to heed his destructive brother's words. At that moment, Donnie's mind was pretty much made up, and he was about to diplomatically turn Mikey down.

However, when the inventor glanced back at the orange-banded ninja's eyes, his heart just melted at the sight, despite all the constant protests and warnings his brain was sending him. After a rather long and epic internal conflict between his rational intellect and his compassionate nature, it was the latter that ultimately, and sadly, emerged victorious.

With a defeated sigh, Donatello looked at Michelangelo and held out his hand.

"Okay, Mikey. But please, for the love of all that is just and righteous, please be extremely careful with it. This is the only one I have. It took me…"

"Thanks dude, you're the best big bro in the world!" Mikey said impatiently before snatching the device out of Don's hand and attaching it to his belt. In the moment of great excitement, both Mikey and Raph failed to notice the changing expressions on Donatello's face at that moment, one that clearly showed how disappointed he had become over the last few minutes.

Splinter, whose eyes were narrowed in concern for his son's welfare, was about to approach Donatello, but Leonardo beat him to it. The blue-clad leader casually threw one arm around Donnie's shoulder and gently pulled him closer.

"You okay there, Don?" he asked with concern clearly visible in his voice.

"Y-Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" Donnie replied almost immediately, trying his best to sound cheerful and his ruse only made Leo sigh.

"You know, I may not be able to read Donatello the genius, but I can easily see though Donnie the little brother. So don't even try to pull a cover over my eyes, brother dearest".

"Oh, I don't have to; you already have one here," Don replied in a teasing tone, his hand fiddling with the tails of Leonardo's bandana, an act that made the normally serious leader chuckle in amusement.

"And no getting smart with your big bro, either".

"I believe getting smart is included in my job description as the resident inventor, maintainer, doctor, handy turtle and errand boy" Donnie replied with a hearty snicker of his own.

At first, Leo was amused by his sibling's words, but a few seconds later, his smile disappeared completely, replaced by a small frown when he went over his brother's choice of words. ' _Errand boy? What…'_

"Uhm, Leo?" Don asked, trying to catch his brother's attention. All of the sudden, Leonardo shook his head and looked at the resident genius with wide eyes.

"Don, what were you…" Leo started, only to be cut off when he heard Raph's voice shouting angrily nearby.

"Darn it, Mikey. Show yourself right now, ya sneaky little…" Raph said, his narrowed eyes constantly darting around the living room in search of the orange-clad ninja. At that moment, Leo and Don did the same, but to their dismay, and Don's fear, they couldn't find their baby brother anywhere.

"Oh no!" Donatello mumbled wryly. "Now I'm starting to regret my decision".

"Michelangelo! Stop immediately!" Leo demanded, knowing exactly how mischievous the turtle in question was. Now that he had an invisibility device in his arsenal, the master prankster was more powerful a force to reckon with.  _'And most of Mikey's tricks always end in disasters'_ Leo thought, looking worriedly at the shaking genius next to him.

All of the sudden, Raph burst out laughing like a maniac and doubled over, much to the confusion and worry of the beholders.

"Raph?" Leo asked.

"Get…him…off…of…me" Raphael replied between hysterical laughter and breathless pants as he struggled to shake off someone who wasn't there.

"Mikey, please stop it! You will break it" Donatello said with a desperate pleading tone while cautiously trying to approach Raph. However, the hothead turtle was now in his feet again, wildly and very carelessly punching and kicking the air around him in hope of knocking the light out of his invisible assailant.

"Where are ya, ya shell-brain?" Raph shouted in irritation.

At this point, master Splinter decided that he had seen enough. The desperate tone of Donnie's unrequited plea was more than enough incentive for the old master to get involved. Quickly, the rat walked toward his sons and gave out a command, shocking both Leo and Don nearby.

"Michelangelo, Raphael, cease this foolishness at once!"

The invisible turtle, at his sensei's order, stopped pestering Raph immediately. Unfortunately for Mikey, Raph, in his blind rampage, didn't stop just yet. Instead, he launched and landed a lucky hit on his brother's stomach, knocking the mischievous ninja backward and effectively undoing his invisibility. Mikey's flying form consequently slammed into the television screens and destroyed more than half of them as a result, much to Donnie's dismay.

The moment Raph's fist made contact with Mikey's stomach, everyone also heard a resounding smashing sound, one that made Donatello's blood run cold instantly. Leo directed his gaze toward the fallen prankster, who was wobbly trying to get up on his feet, while master Splinter's eyes were fixed on Donatello, noticing how much pain he was currently feeling at the moment.

"Ouch, that hurt like shell, dude!" Mikey complained, rubbing and massaging his stomach to somewhat ease the pain. At that moment, his hand felt some pieces on his belt, and it made him gulp.

' _Oh, please don't let that be what I think it is_ ' he prayed as he warily lowered his head to look at Donnie's invisibility badge, or what was left of it. He looked at the crushed item, and slowly looked at its creator.

When Mikey's blue eyes fell on his immediate older sibling, he cringed visibly as if physically struck by another one of Raph's jabs to the chest. Donatello, who had been so cheerful and bright just moments ago, looked like he had been frozen solid in place.

Donnie's mouth was open, but no word came out, and his eyes were wide, directed at the pitiful remains of all his hard work. At that point, everyone could clearly see the genius' hands trembling, like he was trying his very best not to open the floodgate of swirling emotions inside him.

' _Which is definitely the case'_  Mikey thought with a nervous smile on his face as he looked at his quiet brother's face.

After that, an unnerving veil of silence fell upon the entire lair, and none of the mutants present dared to utter a word. They all looked at Donatello expectantly, like he was going to erupt with anger at any given moment. Donnie getting angry was a rare sight to behold in the lair, but once he reached his boiling point…may the celestial beings or all-powerful higher existences have mercy upon the poor, unfortunate souls that bear witnesses. Even Leonardo and Raphael had to admit that dealing with the Shredder was much easier than facing the normally soft-spoken and serene genius' infernal wrath.

' _This is not going to end well!'_  Leo sighed mentally, never once taking his eyes off of his despondent brother next to him. On the other side, master Splinter was doing the exact same thing, his trained eyes filled with concern for the heart-broken and dejected genius son.


	3. Conversation

**Chapter 3:** Conversation

Time itself seemed to come to a complete stop inside the lair, for nobody dared to utter a single word, fearing the unforeseeable consequences they could potentially bring about. Everything was still, and the only sound that could be heard at the moment was that of the repeated dripping of water in the kitchen.

A few minutes had passed since Raph and Mikey broke Donnie's proud invention and, by extension, his heart. The genius turtle was still despondent, seemingly fighting an internal battle inside his own mind on how to react to the situation. By his side, Leo and master Splinter were still watching him very closely, feeling concerned and somewhat fearful for the genius' state of mind.

' _This is getting us nowhere_ ' Leo thought. Then, the leader in blue decided to risk a brutal telling off by his intelligent brother and lay a hand on his shoulder, shaking him gently.

"Hey…Donnie…Are you...Are you still with us?" he asked very carefully.

Then, the turtle in question mechanically turned his head around to look at his leader dead in the eye. Leo visibly cringed when he saw Don's eyes, which were dull and filled with disappointment and contained anger.

"D…Donnie…hey…" Mikey decided it was time to move in, hoping that his normally understanding brother would not whack him with his Bo staff, or worse. "Look, bro…I…I truly am sorry for what happened, it…it was an accident…"

"Yeah right, ya were pestering me for crying out loud, shell-brain" Raph huffed. "Yer the accident."

"Silence, both of you" came Splinter's stern and commanding tone, making both turtles flinch instantly and do as told.

Then, the aged rat softened his features and turned around to look at his intelligent son, his eyes filled with sympathy for all of the inventor's wasted efforts and crushed spirit.

"Donatello, my son…" he started, only to be gently cut off by the purple-clad ninja himself.

"I'm fine, sensei. It's…really no problem at all" Donnie smiled a really sad smile and walked toward Mikey, much to the orange-banded ninja's dismay and terror.

"Could I have that back?" Donatello said softly and held out his hand, but to the terrified Mikey, it sounded more like "Give me that right now or I'll blow you up using the explosives from the Battle Shell".

Wordlessly, Michelangelo handed Donatello the remains of his crushed creation. In the same manner, the intelligent turtle took it.

"Don…I…" Mikey began, but he was stopped.

"Don't worry about it, Mike. I'm sure I still have enough materials to make a new one. I'm sure…I'll be able to make a new one…" Donnie's voice began to trail off, and he stopped talking immediately. Then, he hastily made for his lab and closed the door without even glancing back.

…

Once Donatello was out of sight and earshot, master Splinter sighed sadly and looked at the closed door with great sympathy for his disheartened child. He decided that it would be best to have a talk with Donatello to lighten his spirit up, but before that, something else required his attention.

Turning back to Raphael and Michelangelo, both of whom were shifting nervously on their feet, the rat frowned disapprovingly and slammed his walking stick on the ground with a mighty force, shocking the present turtles out of their trances.

"Raphael, Michelangelo, the two of you will clean up this mess that you have made this instant, and after I have had a talk with Donatello regarding this matter, I expect to see this place clean and spotless. After that, you will do a hundred flips in the dojo, and clean the entire lair until I cannot find a single cobweb. Am I clear?"

"But, sensei…" Raph opened his mouth to speak, but a hard glare from Splinter forced him into silence once again.

"Am. I. Clear?" master Splinter repeated, slowly and clearly. At this point, both Mikey and Raph relented and accepted their fate. "Leonardo, you will stay here and supervise your brothers. Make sure they do everything, and I mean everything to perfection".

"…Yes…sensei," Leo replied sheepishly.

"Good! Perhaps this will teach you to show respect toward your brother and his valiant efforts to keep this lair from falling apart. He has worked days and nights with our interest at heart to come up with that marvelous invention, and you destroyed it, especially you, Michelangelo, I am disappointed. He pleaded with you to stop, yet you persisted…"

Mikey looked down and refused to meet his father's gaze. Seeing his normally cheerful son so downcast broke Splinter's heart. With a defeated sigh, the aged rat softened his gaze and calmed down before speaking again.

"Sigh, we will continue this talk later. Right now, I need to make sure that Donatello is alright. Off you go."

At their master's command, the three turtles immediately scattered and came back with cleaning tools in hands, getting down to business quietly and obediently.

Once he was sure that his sons, except Leonardo, would not run away from their punishment, the rat nodded his head and walked toward Donatello's lab.

…

Standing in front of the giant door to the scientist's domain, Splinter breathed in sharply before gently knocking on it.

"Donatello? May I come in?" he asked carefully and waited expectantly for any reply from the other side of the reinforced gate. To his disappointment, nothing came.

"My son, I simply wish to talk with you in private".

"I'm fine, master Splinter" came Donnie's soft and shaky reply on the other side after a few seconds of silence.

"From the way you looked when you retreated to your lab, I can tell you are far from the definition of "fine", my son. However, if you insist on keeping to yourself, I will stand here and wait until you decide it is the right moment for us to speak" the old rat said after another sigh, his voice stern yet kind. Splinter knew well that Donatello would not inconvenience anyone other than himself – a noble trait that the old master was proud of – and thus, would not keep him waiting long.

True to his anticipation, the door of the lab opened a while later, and the wary genius peeped through the gap to see if there were anyone else with his sensei.

"Do not worry, my son. I came alone" Splinter reassured him instantly like he had read his mind.

After a while longer, Donnie finally opened the gate more and invited his master in. The rat didn't need to be told twice, so he hurried inside and let his son close the door behind him.

At first, the two stood in the middle of the spacious place in silence, waiting for the other to start the conversation. However, to Donatello's dismay, Splinter was looking at him with those trained and patient eyes, which seemed to indicate that the rat could keep this up for a really long time.

With a defeated sigh, Donnie took out two chairs and asked his father to sit down.

"Sensei, I already told you. I'm fine, it was no big deal. It was just an accident, and I'm sure I can build another one. I still have the notes and the calculations, so it's…it's..." his voice suddenly trailed off.

"My son, you are many things, but never a liar" Splinter raised a paw up, gently stopping Donnie from making excuses about how down he was feeling.

"What are you talking about, master Splinter? I'm not lying" Donnie said with a nervous smile on his face, which made the ninjutsu master chuckle sadly, yet somewhat fondly as well.

"You are among the best of your brothers when it comes to the art of stealth, my son, but when it is about deception, it is a different story entirely".

"Oh..." Donnie mumbled something under his breath that the rat couldn't catch and looked down shamefully at the floor, trying his best to avoid his master's puzzled gaze, "I'm really sorry to disappoint you, sensei…I'll be sure to work on that…" he said softly, making Splinter widen his eyes in shock momentarily before calming down again.

"No, Donatello. Though deception is an extremely useful skill for a ninja, it is not something every ninja must have. You and your brothers have all made it this far without resorting to tricks and lies, so I can say with certainty that you do not require such a skill in your arsenal. In addition, deception is simply not in your nature, and I am proud to have such an honest and noble individual as my son and student".

"Thank you, master Splinter" Donnie said with a genuine smile, overjoyed to hear his father's praise.

"Now back to you, my son. How are you faring?"

"Huh?" Donnie asked in confusion, "I'm fine, sensei, honest".

"Really? Then I am just supposed to imagine that your body was warmer than usual when I touched your shoulder a while ago?"

"...Oh…" the purple-clad ninja looked down again, causing Splinter's frown to deepen.

"My son, exactly how many sleepless nights have you endured this week?" Splinter said, and before Donnie could protest, he added, "Please do not act so nervous around me, Donatello. Right now, I am not your sensei; I am your father, and I simply wish to have a friendly conversation with you".

"...Well…three…maybe four…I'm not so sure myself" Donnie replied, still avoiding his father's piercing gaze. Thanks to that, he didn't see the rat's scowl deepen.

"Donatello, your body needs sufficient rest to recuperate and to function properly, and you must not deny it its need".

"I know, but you know me, sensei, I just can't stop myself when I'm in the middle of my projects. It feels like if I don't at least finish it, the idea will simply disappear from my mind, and besides…" he suddenly stopped in mid-sentence.

"And besides?" Splinter prompted him to continue.

"I just want to prove to everyone that I can be of service to our family by applying myself where I'm good at".

"Sigh, oh Donatello, you have more than proved yourself to us, to your brothers, to me, to everyone we know, allies and enemies alike. Why is it that you do not recognize yourself for all of your efforts?"

Donnie suddenly grew quiet at that question, trying to find the right words to reply. Splinter knew his genius son's tendency to overthink things, so he left him be for a while, knowing that Donatello would talk when he was ready.

And he didn't have to wait long.

"I think it's because I sometimes feel that what I do is not enough" Donnie said, earning a surprised look from his father.

"What do you mean, my son?"

"It's just that…" Donnie sighed and rubbed his temple to ease a sudden headache, a gesture that Splinter didn't fail to notice, "I know I'm the weakest ninja in this family, so I try my best to make up for it by coming up with tools that we can use…" the genius said stoically, making Splinter's eyes widen to the size of saucers.

"Wha…What are you talking about, Donatello?" the rat interjected, trying to get his beloved child to rid his head of such a false and depressing thought. "You and your brothers are…"

"On different leagues, I know, sensei" the purple-clad ninja cut in, "I learned that lesson when I became the first turtle to get his shell handed to him in the first round of the Battle Nexus, while my brothers easily advanced into the next rounds".

Splinter once again frowned in concern and became silent after that. Not even glancing at his father's face, Donnie continued.

"I don't know, I guess I just want a feeling of belonging…We are a family of ninjas, and my fighting skills are nowhere near those of my siblings, so I try to please everyone and create a place for myself in this family by creating and fixing useful things for the lair".

"Do not let your self-doubt consume your mind, my son. You are a powerful warrior in your own rights, and that is a fact. Your brothers, though skilled as they are, still have their own strengths and weaknesses, and the same is applied to you. No one is perfect".

"But Leo…"

"Has his own weaknesses and challenges as well. While I do not deny the fact that he is powerful and devoted, more so than anyone in this clan, his dedication toward us and toward his duties can at times serve as his worst enemy, as it can lead him to single-handedly shouldering all the pressure and doubting himself, much like what you are doing right now, Donatello".

"I guess so…" Donnie whispered, but he was still not convinced, and Splinter could easily see that.

"My son, we may be a family of ninjas, and ninjutsu indeed plays an indispensable part in our lives, but never have I used it as a measure to rank the four of you in terms of superiority, nor have I ever considered using it to measure my love for each of my sons".

"Each of you has your strong points and weak points, and that is why I trained you as a team and appointed all of you your specific roles in battle. What you are not good at is covered by your teammates, while what you are good at serves as a cover for the others where they are lacking".

"You and your brothers complement each other and help each other grow into the fine warriors you are today. Leonardo's balanced skills and leadership lead you through times of difficulties; Michelangelo's raw talents and unpredictability make him our own secret weapon; Raphael's unrivaled strength and stamina serve excellently as our protector, like our sword and shield; and your incredible mind and gentle nature, Donatello, are the very links that connect the others and provide assistance where brute force alone cannot handle. I cannot remember how many times your wonderful gadgets have saved us all from impeding doom".

At this point, Donatello lifted his head slightly to look at master Splinter's face. The rat smiled at him gently, which told the genius how sincere he was. The turtle in purple couldn't help but smile at his father's kind words.

"Thank you, sensei…That really means a lot coming from you".

"There is no need for you to thank me, my son. I am simply stating the truth. While you may not be the physically strongest in our small clan, you are without a doubt the mentally strongest fighter I have ever known".

Donnie chuckled and looked down bashfully, his face turning as red as a tomato at his father's sincere praise.

"So, does that mean…stronger than you as well, sensei?" he asked carefully, with a small hint of humor in his voice. The old master couldn't help but chuckle in amusement at his child's question. If Donatello was in the mood to jest, he would be fine very soon.

"I think I will leave that to your imagination" he answered his son in a playful tone, causing the genius to snicker.

...

After that, both father and son started to laugh heartily, enjoying each other's company. After a while, Splinter's eyes traveled to Don's desk and caught sight of his son's crushed invention lying pathetically on top, and once again, he found himself frowning.

"Don't worry about that, master Splinter. I'm sure Mikey and Raph didn't do it on purpose" Donatello said, this time knowing exactly what his father was thinking about, "Like I said, I can build another one, or even a better one. It may take some time to find the suitable parts, but it's possible".

"You have always been a forgiving and understanding brother to your siblings, Donatello, and those are among your most amazing traits that define you" Splinter said with another warm smile.

"Thank you, master. I was a little sad that it got smashed, but it's fine" All of a sudden, another headache occurred, causing the genius turtle to squeeze his eyes shut and rub his template again.  _"Besides, I'm supposed to be used to it by now"_ he thought bitterly _._

"Used to it?" the rat's ears perked up and he looked at his son with eyes narrowed in concern _._  At that moment, Donnie knew he had unknowingly spoken his highly personal thought out loud, and tried desperately to fix it.

"No...that's not what I meant, sensei…"

"Oh? Then please, by all means, humor me".

Donnie tried to say something, but his words got stuck in his mouth and he simply looked down again.

"There is something more to your obsession with your inventions than what you have just told me, isn't there, Donatello?' Splinter asked kindly, standing up from his chair and gently lifting his son's head up to by placing a hand under his chin.

Donnie was about to deny, but he knew his father would surely see through his feeble excuses. Thus, he resigned himself to the situation and nodded solemnly.

"Yes…What I told you is just part of the reason why I spend so much of my time inventing and fixing things for everyone…" he began shakily.

"And the other part is…" Splinter prompted, patiently waiting for his son to finish speaking his mind. The old master hadn't had a heart-to-heart conversation with his second youngest for a while, and this would be a perfect opportunity to learn about the things the reserved genius had locked away in his heart.

"Sigh, the other part is because I want to see your recognition – the bright smiles of appreciation that you normally flash at me when I present you with something useful. Your happiness gives me the feeling that I'm appreciated for my efforts".

"…I see…"

"I'm sorry to say this, but sometimes, I get the impression that I can't connect with any of my brothers at all. They all have their own interests, and most of them are pretty much in common with one another, like Mikey and Raph's love for video games, or your and Leo's appreciation for tea ceremony and Japanese culture, but mine…" Don then fell silent, unable to finish his sentence due to another sudden headache.

"I understand your point, my son" Splinter said sadly and put a hand on his son's tensed shoulder, "Being a genius is a lonely burden, your case especially, for you are different than most geniuses out there. Unlike the others, you only have us to talk with most of the time".

"I'm sorry, I'm probably selfish for thinking only for myself" Don said softly and hung his head, avoiding his father's concerned eyes, "But sometimes, I wish that my brothers would at least…I don't know, spare some time – just five minutes – to listen or just pretend to listen to my explanations without falling asleep or telling me to be quiet. I just can't stop going on and on about something that I truly love".

"However, when I want to talk about a subject that I like, Mikey knocks off after five seconds, Leo at least tries to listen halfway before politely telling me to stop, and Raph…well, he blatantly tells me to shut up every time, sometimes before I even open my mouth. I just wish that April could come here more often to talk with me about science and stuff, and other times, I just want to get out of the lair for a while to visit Leatherhead and professor Honeycutt, but then who will upgrade the security systems, or fix the power, the Battle Shell, the Cell Shell should something happen to them while I'm away…"

While Donatello was baring his soul to him, Splinter simply stood still and listened to the words that left the genius' mouth. He had a feeling that his sensitive son had been holding all of these thoughts and emotions inside for a long time - a really long time. He knew that he had found the answer to the question that had plagued his head a while ago – they indeed had been neglecting Donatello. Just because he was an incredible, scientific and methodical genius didn't mean he couldn't feel loneliness.

"I'm sorry, master Splinter, I know I'm a horrible brother for talking badly about my siblings behind their backs" Donnie guiltily said after a brief moment of silence.

"No, my son. I can say with certainty that you are not, and will never be, a horrible brother to them. A horrible person would never apologize to someone before stating something that may sound blunt and hurtful" Splinter reassured his son with a kind smile, making Donnie return the gesture.

"Thank you, sensei".

"Please, if you have something else you need to say, then say it. I'm certain you will feel much better when the burden is off your chest, my son".

"…Sometimes, when I present them something, I just...pray that at least one of them would just ask me how my device works, I mean the theory and inner workings, and not interrupt me when I explain…but it seems like a far-fetched dream. It's not that I'm mad at them, I'm just…I don't know, saddened, I suppose. Also, while I'm really happy but that they silently appreciate my efforts, it would be a dream come true if they said a simple 'thank you' directly to me every now and then, and that they would at least be more careful with my gadgets. I don't have time to constantly fix everything that gets smashed by their carelessness around here, or stop in the middle of my projects to fix everything they request".

The genius turtle then grew silent and looked at the floor solemnly, while master Splinter continued to look at his son with a sad and sympathetic expression on his face.

"My poor son, it seems that we have been neglecting you for far too long" master Splinter began nonchalantly, making Donnie's head shoot up in surprise.

"What? No sensei, I'm not being neglected. I'm just feeling a bit lonely sometimes, that's all" he objected, trying to defend the others and even Splinter.

"It is not that simple, Donatello. Your brothers and I clearly have not paid adequate attention to your thoughts and feelings for quite a while now, nor have we given you enough credit for all that you have done for our family. You have contributed a lot to make all of us feel comfortable, but we have not done anything for you in return".

"Oh, there is no need for that, sensei. I'm always glad and proud to be a part of this family. And like I said, I sometime feel that way, not all the time…"

"How often you feel that way is of little importance, my son. The important thing here is that we make you feel lonely and unappreciated, even in your own home. I am terribly sorry for not paying enough attention to your thoughts and wants, Donatello. Perhaps there is something your brothers and I can do to rectify our mistakes".

"No, like I said, master Splinter, I'm fine…" Donnie bolted up from his chair and soon learned that it was a mistake.

Due to the sudden movement, he was instantly hit by a nasty dizzy spell and would have doubled over if his father had not caught him in time.

"Are you alright?" the aged rat asked with worry lacing his voice.

"Yeah…I'm good" the turtle replied feebly and tried his best to clear his blurry vision, but to no avail.

"You are tired from all your efforts, my son, you should rest for now. We will talk later once you have regained your strength".

"Don't worry, master…I'm…feeling...fine…" Donnie protested weakly, his voice became softer and softer until he fell asleep in his father's arms from fatigue.

He had been up for three or four nights already, and something told Splinter that the genius hadn't spent his time solely on the invisibility device, for the Battle Shell couldn't possibly fix itself, and neither could Mikey's game station, Raph's broken Shell Cell, Leo's radio, and various commodities inside the lair.

With another sad sigh, the aged master led his son to a spare bed in the lab and let him sleep. Once that was done, he placed a hand on Donnie's forehead. It was warm, but not alarming. However, just to be on the safe side of thing, he quickly walked out of the lab, promptly ignoring his other sons' nervous and questioning stares at his back when he was strolling through the living room and into the kitchen to get a pack of ice from the fridge.

In an instant, Leonardo was at his side.

"Master Splinter, what's wrong with Don?" he asked hastily, but the wise rat was certain that his oldest and most perceptive son had already guessed what the ice pack was for.

"Do not worry, my son. Your brother is simply tired from working too hard. Let him sleep for the rest of the day and I am certain he will feel revitalized in no time".

"That's good to hear. I'm worried about Don. He did say something that made me rather concerned a while ago…" Leo admitted.

"What was it?"

"When he was teasing me while Mikey was trying out his invention, he referred to himself as an 'errand boy', I mean…we don't boss him around too much…do we?" Leo asked nervously, fearing the answer.

With another sigh, master Splinter put a paw on his son's shoulder and said softly.

"Please tell Michelangelo and Raphael to come to the dojo after they finish cleaning the living room; you as well, Leonardo. I have something I would like to discuss with all of you regarding Donatello".

"What about their punishment?"

"They can do that after dinner and before tomorrow's training. Now excuse me, I have to give this to your brother".

With a nod of acknowledgement, Leonardo walked away to find his immature and short-tempered siblings. Once Leo was gone, Splinter walked into the lab and placed the ice pack on Donnie's forehead, stroking his scalp lovingly with a fond smile on his face.

"Sweet dreams, my gentle and selfless son" he whispered.

After that, the aged master silently made his way out of the lab and into the dojo, where he found his other sons had gathered and were waiting expectantly for him to state his purpose for an untimely family meeting.

After a sharp breath, the rat walked in front of his three kneeling students and settled down.


	4. Gratitude

**Chapter 4:** Gratitude

The atmosphere in the dojo was obviously heavy, and the three kneeling turtles could easily feel the tension gradually rising as time passed. In front of them, master Splinter sat still with his eyes closed like he was meditating.

After what seemed like an eternity, the old master opened his eyes and looked at his three sons, noticing their varying expressions. Leo was calm and collected as always; Raphael was clearly getting impatient from waiting too long, and Mikey was shifting constantly but subtly. However, he could see that all three of them were waiting seriously and expectantly for him to begin.

"…My sons," Splinter began sternly, catching the turtles' attention immediately, "I have just had a private talk with Donatello regarding the 'accident' as he phrased it" the rat then turned his head and looked at Michelangelo, who preferred to look anywhere but his father at the moment. Nonetheless, the rat knew that his youngest child was feeling guilty and beating himself up.

"He forgave you already, Michelangelo, and he wanted you to be more careful with his gadgets in the future" the rat added, which seemed to make Mikey relax immediately, but Splinter could see lingering guilt in the orange-banded turtle's eyes.

"I'm so sorry…" he muttered.

"It is not I whom you should be apologizing to, Michelangelo. It would do your brother some good if you were to tell him that directly" Splinter said, and instantly, Mikey nodded repeatedly.

A fond yet sad smile formed on Leonardo's face. Of all his brothers, Donnie was always the most sensible, caring and understanding one. Yet, he couldn't help but feel somewhat sad that his genius brother was at times too kind for his own good.

At the same time, Raph was frowning and feeling a bit guilty, for he had been the force behind the device's destruction.

"So sensei, is Donnie…okay in there?" the red-banded turtle asked carefully.

"I am afraid he is having a headache and a mild fever from overworking, but there is nothing serious. A nice rest and he should be up and training with us in no time".

"Overworking?" Raph asked in surprise.

"Yes, Raphael. Your brother spent many sleepless nights on his latest project, not to mention his routine maintenance of the lair's security systems and the Battle Shell, as well as various repairs. Also, he has come up with a variety of plans, weapons and tools for our battles against our enemies. You could say that your brother has been restless as of late, and his fatigue has finally caught up to him".

The three turtles instantly hung their heads and looked down. While they knew that Don had a lot on his plate, they never thought of it much, mainly because the genius turtle never asked them for help with his mountain of tasks.

' _More like he knew the answer he would most likely get from all of us'_  Leo thought sadly, remembering the numerous occasions when he, Raph and Mikey had turned down Donnie's requests due to their lack of knowledge and interest in the field of technology.

"Actually, I have something I need to talk to you about Donatello's place in this family" Splinter continued, snapping Leo out of his trance.

"Donnie's place?" the three turtles asked in unison.

"Master Splinter, we all know Donnie is our inventor and doctor. Isn't that all?" Miley asked.

"You seem to be forgetting something, my son" the rat continued, earning Mikey's confusion.

"He's our brother above all else…" Raph added, which made Splinter nod.

"And yet, we treat him like he's our personal, unpaid handyman most of the time…" Leo continued, remembering the unflattering position which Donnie had referred to himself as.

"Tell me my sons, when was the last time any of you actually listened to his explanations without dozing off, interrupting him or telling him to "shut up"? Or said words of gratitude to him when he made you a useful tool or appliance?"

At those questions, all three turtles sank even lower. But when Leo glanced at his father, he could see that the rat himself was feeling guilty about the whole thing as well. However, the oldest turtle knew that his father at least had a proper excuse for not doing those things, for Donnie had never interrupted his meditation sessions to talk about his inventions.

The three turtles, the ones who were supposed to be closest to Don, were a different story entirely. Whenever he made something, he would run straight to them to proudly present his work, and the purple-clad ninja's enthusiasm would then get shot down most of the time by their lack of interest in scientific theories and formulas.

' _To him, it must feel like we only care about the end results, not how much time and effort he spends on his work_ ' Mikey thought and grimaced.

In addition, there were times when the three brothers would tell the busy turtle to help them out with various technical problems around the lair, and Donnie was expected to get things done without delay, no matter what he was doing and how important it was to him.

' _Oh, Donnie…_ ' Raph thought, feeling guilt eating away at his heart, and he could tell that his other brothers were currently experiencing that nasty sensation as well.

After allowing his sons a few minutes of silence to think about what he had said, master Splinter then captured their attention once again and told them about everything that Donatello had said to him a while ago – how he felt about himself, how he wished to talk to someone about technology and science, etc.

As Splinter spoke, the turtles listened with undivided attention, taking in each and every word that their father was telling them.

…

After a long time had passed, the old rat finally finished his speech, and looked at his sons, meticulously studying their body language and facial expressions to the smalles of details to gain some clues as to what they were possibly thinking about.

Leonardo was wearing a frown on his face, expressing his self-directed anger and disapproval for his lack of attention toward his quiet brother. Raph's hands were clenched into tight balls, feeling disgusted and guilty of the things he had said and done, either intentionally or unintentionally, to Donnie a while ago and in the past. At the same time, Mikey's face looked really sad and downcast, unable to believe that he had never realized that his closest brother and best friend was feeling that way.

" _What kind of brother am I?"_  they simultaneously asked themselves.

A few minutes afterwards, silence took reign once again, enveloping the dojo like a thick blanket. All of the room's occupants didn't move, or even glance at each other. They only sat still and thought about what they had been told.

After another long while, it was Michelangelo who decided to break the ice.

"Dude, I think we should do something nice for him…you know, be better brothers to him for a change" he suggested.

"Yeah" both Leo and Raph agreed almost immediately.

The three brothers then exchanged glances among themselves before directing their eyes toward their father, who had been silently watching, and no doubt listening in to their unspoken conversation.

"I, too, wish to do something for Donatello to express my gratitude toward him and all of his hard work, and to make it up to him for all the time I have neglected his feelings and thoughts."

"If that's the case, I have just the idea to make things right" Mikey suddenly bolted up and pointed his one finger in the air, "But we're going to need help – BIG help".

Mikey then told his family about the idea he had come up with, and everyone, except a grinning Splinter, hurried out of the lair immediately afterward.

…

Later that day in the lab, Donatello began to stir awake from his longest and most restful slumber in weeks. He had managed to sleep from noon to eight in the evening, a new record for the perpetually workaholic inventor.

Quickly getting up from his spare bed, the turtle in purple then rubbed his tired eyes and began to make his way out to the living room.

"The guys are so going to give me an earful for showing up late for dinner yet again" he mumbled after a quick glance at his clock and began to make his way toward the door.

The moment he opened the lab's door, he was met with compete darkness and silence. There was absolutely nothing in sight whatsoever, no chatting family members, no light, no sound from the TV, no light in the kitchen, absolutely nothing, only the eerie veil of blackness, and it instantly made him alerted.

In his alarmed brain, countless worst-case scenarios began to play, from a mass power outage to the Foot's invasion and Bishop's discovery of the lair.

In his moment of alert, the purple-banded turtle reached for his Bo staff and took his stance, calming his breathing and listening intently to his surroundings.

At first, he picked up nothing out of the ordinary, but after a few minutes, he heard someone or something move stealthily around the place. Closing his eyes to further enhance his other senses, the trained Bo master cautiously took a few steps forward, trying to identify the infiltrator within the shadows.

Suddenly, he felt another presence right behind him. In one quick motion, Donatello turned around and jabbed the end of his staff at the enigma's abdomen, making him double over in pain. Then, Don instantly bent down and performed a beautifully executed low sweep, which effectively knocked whoever was lurking around off balance and made him fall flat on his back.

After hearing a high-pitched surprised yelp coming from his mysterious guest, the genius turtle jumped on top of his fallen opponent and sat on his chest, preventing him from getting up. He then pointed his staff close to the enigma's throat, and said in a rather intimidating tone.

"Who are you and what have you done with my family?"

"Dude, chill. It's just me!" came the nervous but familiar voice of the fallen opponent.

"Mikey?" Donnie asked in surprise.

At that moment, all the lights got turned on at the same time, momentarily blinding the baffled genius.

It took a few seconds for his eyes to adjust to the new brightness, and when they did, Donnie could now see that he was indeed sitting on his baby brother's plastron with one end of his staff pointed at the subdued turtle's throat.

All of the sudden, he heard a loud laughter from the couch and heard a gruff Brooklyn-accented voice spoke.

"Nice job, Brainiac. Ya just whooped the so-called Battle Nexus champ's sorry shell in the dark" Raphael said before laughing again

Instantly, Donatello's head turned around at his brother's position. To his surprise, he saw Raph, Leo, Splinter sitting on the couch and smiling at him. However, they weren't the only ones. To add to his confusion, Donnie also saw Leatherhead, April, Casey and professor Honeycutt behind his brothers and father.

"Hey, dude, can I get up now?" Mikey asked, snapping the bewildered genius out of his trance.

"Oh…Sorry, Mikey" he said before helping his fallen brother to his feet. "Are you alright?"

"Never better!" the orange-clad ninja excitedly replied and waved his hands in the air to prove is point.

"Guys? What is this? What is going on here?" Donnie asked, still confused about the sudden appearances of his friends. However, when he saw Leatherhead, he figured that something big must have happened topside, and he panicked.

"Did something happen when I was sleeping? Is it the Shredder? Did the Triceratons come back? Is Bishop acting up again? Oh I know I shouldn't have closed my eyes…"

"Whoa there, Don, calm down, breathe. Calm thoughts and cleansing breaths" Leo said as he waved his hands in front of him, stopping his hysterical brother. "Everything is fine, no Shredder, no Bishop, no alien. Just you busting Mikey's shell. I must admit Raph, that was gold".

Raph replied with a brief "Told ya" before bursting out laughing again, causing the current Battle Nexus champion to pout and cross his hand in a childish tantrum.

"Okay" Donnie said, managing to calm down a little bit, but he was still very alarmed. "Then what is going on here? If you had needed my help with something technical, you could have just woken me up, there is no need to bother Leatherhead and professor Honeycutt…"

"No my son, we didn't call upon Leatherhead for technical support or anything" Splinter said as he approached and put a hand on the suspicious turtle's shoulder.

"That is correct, my friend" the mutant crocodile said, "Master Splinter invited me and the professor here to celebrate an occasion".

"What occasion? It's a normal Friday".

"Why, your appreciation party, Don" April said with a gentle smile on her face.

"My…what?" Don raised an eye ridge and looked at everyone in confusion, but then again, his mind finally managed to put two and two together and reached a conclusion in a matter of seconds. "Master Splinter?"

"My son, from what we have talked about. I realized that we have not given you enough credit and appreciation for all of your hard work and invaluable contributions to our small clan. For that reason, Michelangelo came up with the idea of throwing you a surprise party to show how grateful we are, and how sorry we are for our lack of attention toward your needs".

"Sensei, you didn't have to do all this" Donnie said, his face becoming as red as a tomato due to the attention he was receiving. At the sight of his son's shy face, the aged rat chuckled.

"You are correct, my son. I didn't have to, but I chose to. Now come, this party is not going to start without the guest of honor".

Without waiting for his son to protest, the old rat, despite his age, dragged the young turtle to the couch, where Leonardo and Raphael helped him sit down.

"Uh, guys…It's okay, really, you don't have to do all this…"

"Too late, Brainiac, we already did" Raph said with a smirk and threw his around the genius' shoulder. "Now let the party begin".

With that, the room got dark, but it was still bright enough to see everyone. After that, Leatherhead took out a large spherical object from his bag and pressed a few buttons on it. Instantly, the ball began to levitate and flew toward the ceiling.

"What is that?" Donnie asked, intrigued by the strange device, causing Splinter to smile warmly.

"It is something I designed with the professor for you, my friend. I hope you like it" the mutant scientist said.

Once the hovering orb was in position, it turned into a bright and colorful disco ball and lit up the entire darkened lair.

"That is actually the prototype for our multi-functional spy drone...and emergency flashlight, but I suppose it can be used like this as well. After all, this is more exciting!" the Fugitoid said and began to dance a dance that nobody in the room could understand, but it was still a sight to behold.

"This is amazing, professor!" Donnie said with a happy smile.

"Hey bro, don't forget us. We may not be master inventors like you or LH, but we are masters with our own bragging rights" Mikey suddenly chimed in before making a beeline toward the kitchen, returning a moment later with three trays filled with things that Donatello liked, minus coffee of course.

"How did you find the time to make all this, Mikey?"

"Dude, we had like eight hours to prep, and I'm like the master of master chefs" said the proud turtle in orange, "Besides, I had a big help from April".

"Actually, I only helped out with the garnish, Mikey Flay here was doing all the hard work" the redhead said.

"Minor details, just eat up, bro, it's all for you, and if this isn't enough, just tell me. It's my way of saying thank you for everything that you've done for all of us, and I'm really, really sorry for smashing your invention a while ago".

Donatello was touched by the extent of his little brother's efforts to make it up to him. For Donnie, it felt strange to be on the receiving side, in a good way of course. For the first time in his life, the resident genius was at a loss for words.

"I…I don't know what to say, Mikey…"

"There's no need for you to say anything, Donnie. Just enjoy yourself. Come on, dig in, it's delicieux".

"No offense, Mike, your French accent is horrible" Donnie spoke in jest, making the orange-clad brother pouted in mock anger, but the soon smiled again and waved his hand dismissively.

Donatello then did as told, and to his amazement, Mikey's cooking tasted even better than usual, if that was even possible. The food Don's little brother had prepared was absolutely fantastic, like perfection on a plate. Immediately after the first bite, Don's eyes lit up and scooped another spoonful.

"This is incredible, Mikey" he said, making the proud chef smile with great delight, "I can totally eat all of this".

"Well, what's stopping ya?" Raph asked, his smirk getting bigger than before.

"That was just a figure of speech, Raph. I can't possibly stomach this amount of food even if I really want to. Why don't you join me?"

"It's your party, so it's your call, buddy" Leo said before turning to address everyone. "You heard the man, everyone, let's eat!"

After that, everyone settled down and enjoyed themselves, lost in the music and the joyous atmosphere of the party. In the lair, only the sound of hearty laughter could be heard as the mutants, robot and humans conversed, jested, danced and celebrated without a care in the world.

In the middle of the party, Leo and Raph gave Don their own presents. From Leo, he received a ticket that empowered Donnie to boss him around for an entire month, and the turtle in blue stressed that Don was allowed and even encouraged to take advantage of this opportunity; Raph's gift was a signed commitment in which he agreed he would not break anything for a whole week (the short-fused ninja didn't have enough confidence to make it a month like his brother).

Surrounded by his festive and happy family and friends, Donatello could only think of one thing to say.

"Thank you everyone. I really appreciate it".

"No, Donnie boy, thank you, for all that you've done, do and will do for us" his brothers instantly replied with their glasses held high. After a loud cheer, the three turtles pulled the unsuspecting genius into a tight group hug, much to his surprise and delight.


	5. Father's Gift

**Chapter 5:** Father's Gift

The surprise party, though simple due to the limited time for preparation, was a success.

Donatello immediately felt much better than before with his family and friends surrounding him. He was overjoyed, for he had never received this much attention before, except for the time after he had recovered from his second mutation. However, too much all of the sudden was causing the normally introverted and shy scientist to become rather embarrassed.

"Donatello, how do you like your party?" Splinter asked kindly, sensing the slight discomfort of his second youngest son.

"Oh, I love it, master Splinter. Thank you for everything" Donatello instantly replied with a genuine smile.

"That is indeed good to hear, my son. Now then, I believe I have not given you your present yet, have I?"

"Oh, no no. There is absolutely no need for that, sensei. You've already done a lot to help me already, so…"

"Yes, but I want to give you something else, my son, something your brothers and I feel that you truly deserve for everything you have given us" the aged rat said, smiling fondly at his son's confused face.

Without waiting for his intelligent student to speak up, the old master instantly continued, "I herby give you permission to go on a vacation outside the lair".

"WHAT?" Donnie asked in bewilderment, but then he noticed his language toward his father and corrected himself "Oh, sorry sensei…Excuse me?" he said, making the rat laugh heartily.

"Like I said, you now have my permission to take a break from your daily duties and training for…hmm, a week. Spend some time doing things you like, talking with Leatherhead, April and professor Honeycutt about science and technology for example. Maybe you can hold your own scientist convention at Leatherhead's place, that is what you've always wanted, is it not, my son?"

Leatherhead smiled and nodded his head in agreement, and so did April. It was understandable that the two of them greatly enjoyed Donatello's company, for he was one of the few good guys that could easily talk to without holding back.

"That would be marvelous, my friend! We have so much we need to discuss, so many formulas to solve and so many theories to prove. And I would like nothing more than to hold numerous long, informative discussions with a brilliant scientific mind such as yourself" Leatherhead added with a happy grin of his own.

"Yeah, besides, I also love to have someone to talk to –someone that doesn't always rant on and on about wrestling maneuvers and monster trucks" April said, shooting Casey a meaningful glare and causing him to smile sheepishly and scratch the back of his head.

"Oh come on, April, I know you like those" he protested weakly.

"Yes I do like those, but not every second of every minute of every single day of a week".

"Okay, I get it, I get it, but can't I come with you guys? It's kinda lonely at home" the hockey vigilante said with a pleading tone, making April chuckle.

"Sorry, Casey," April said with a smile after a few seconds, "A scientist convention means scientists only".

"Don't worry, Case man" Raph chimed in, elbowing his pal's ribs playfully, "Let her go out for a while, you and me will have more time to bust some heads around the blocks. Words around the streets said the Purple Dragon punks had set up a new lair somewhere".

"Cool!" Casey replied and bumped his fist into Raph's, making the human female roll her eyes and sigh.

"Yeah, you do that" she said and turned around.

Meanwhile, Donatello was torn between excitement and worry. True, it was like a dream come true for him to be immersed in technology and intelligent conversations, debates, discussions with his fellow scientists, but he couldn't help but feel uneasy, and for obvious reasons as well.

"But…If I leave the lair, who will take care of the security grids, the power lines, the water systems, the maintenance, the…"

"We'll be fine, Don" Leo interjected with a brotherly smile. "I'll make sure that Mikey and Raph stay out of trouble. I promise everything will be in their places where you leave them. Besides, master Splinter is here, how much trouble can we possibly get into?"

"No offense, but do you really want me to answer that question? I can easily make a list of things that you will most probably get yourselves into if left unsupervised around the lair's appliances" Don immediately voiced his concern, causing Leo to once again flinch visibly.

"Ahh…no?" the normally confident turtle in blue mumbled with uncertainty.

"Furthermore, what if something comes up, like the Shredder or something similar, how can I make it back in time? Leatherhead's lair is too far away. Even if I take the Sewer Slider, it will take at least an hour or two".

"Not to worry, my friend" Leatherhead said and put a hand on Donnie's shoulder. "Professor Honeycutt has another gift for you as well".

"Yes, I presumed you would be delighted to learn that I have installed a new acceleration unit in your Sewer Slider, with the approval of your family, of course. We conducted a field test, and it only took less than five minutes to travel from this place to our place…the cornering could use some work, however".

"Field test? Did Raph test it?" Don asked, fearing for his creation's survival.

"Not me, Brainiac" the red-banded racer protested, "I seriously don't want to get chased around the lair by an angry turtle with a sledgehammer in hand ever again. Believe it or not, Fearless did it".

"And everything was perfect, Don" Leo added, "If anything serious does come up on this side, we will let you know immediately via the Shell Cell, I promise. For the time being, enjoy your well-earned vacation time, you need it".

Donatello became silent after that. He really enjoyed the prospect of a short break, but he couldn't possibly leave his posts and play around when there is so much to do.

"I don't know…I can't think only about myself" Don began.

"But you are allowed to think about yourself, dude" Mikey chimed in. "You always think about us, about everyone's safety, so some down time for yourself will do you some good. Trust me, I know".

"Sure ya would" Raph huffed and rolled his eyes.

"Excuse me, was I talking to you?" Mikey retorted in a sarcastic manner.

"Was I talking to ya?" Raph shot back in a similar tone, making Don chuckle in delight.

"Think about it, Don. You are not selfish, because this is what we want you to do" Leo said in an attempt to persuade his hard-working brother to give in.

Another internal conflict took place inside the intelligent turtle's head, and he looked at the floor with his chin on the back of his hand in a thoughtful manner. One look at Donatello and one would think the genius was trying to work out the secrets of the universe, not thinking about whether or not to take a vacation.

After a rather long time, Don lifted his head up and looked at everyone in the room. He could easily tell that they were pleading with him to agree to the proposal.  _'Now this is odd'_  he thought with amazement, ' _I've never seen anybody this desperate to the point of actually begging someone to take a break before. I suppose I can do this…for them"._

After a sharp intake of breath, Don stood up straight and looked directly into everyone's expectant eyes.

"Alright, I'll take a vacation" he announced, causing the others to cheer triumphantly like they had won the lottery or something. Well, Don couldn't blame them, for it had taken a whole room full of people to persuade him.

"That is a wise decision, my son" Splinter said and approached Donatello.

"Yes, but I do have some conditions of my own" Don added, making everyone flinch simultaneously, even the ninja master.

"And what would they be?" Leo asked with hesitation, fearing the answers he would receive. After all, Don was crazy smart, so he could easily manipulate the entire room into agreeing to virtually anything, and Leo knew for a fact that those conditions would surely hinder his brother's down time.

"Simple, actually. Firstly, I want you to tell me immediately if something serious happens and that means no delay; things such as injuries, security breach, etc. must be reported at once. Secondly, you will leave my lab and my stuff alone, nobody is allowed to go in my lab or mess with my unfinished projects. Last but not least, do not break the Battle Shell, or anything in the lair. I will only take a break if those conditions are agreed upon".

"Alright, we have a deal, then" Leo answered after thinking for a while.

"Good! Because failure to comply will result in…unforeseeable and dire consequences for the perpetrators" Don added with a rather devious smirk on his face, making the oldest turtle step back. Leo knew well that Donnie, thanks to his pacifistic tendency, hardly made threats, but when he did, he had every intention of carrying them out.

"You have my word, turtle's honor" the leader in blue replied after regaining his composure.

"Good enough for me" Don said cheerfully and turned to look at Leatherhead. "So, how soon do we leave?"

"If you like, we can depart immediately" the crocodile replied.

"Sounds good!"

With that, the purple-banded turtle made his way out of the lair after bidding everyone goodbye and once again thanking them for the lovely party. The mutant family, along with Casey, saw Don and his fellow scientist friends off until the sight of the Sewer Slider disappeared completely.

"Wow, that was an amazing party," Mikey started as he stretched his back and limbs, "We should do this more often".

"Agreed," Leo replied, making Raph snicker.

"Never thought you were the partying type, Fearless" he teased.

"Not for me, Raph, for Don".

"Yes, it would be great if we could do something to repay Donatello for all of his hard work and kindness toward us" Splinter commented.

"Yeah, but that's for next time. Right now, I'm beat" Mikey said before yawning a huge yawn to emphasize his point, "Good night then".

"Hold on, Michelangelo. I think you forgot something. The living room is not going to clean after itself" Splinter said with a smirk on his face, much like the one Don had flashed Leo.

"But, master Splinter…"

"No buts, my son. As I recall, you still haven't completed the punishment for breaking your brother's invention, so I suggest you get down to it if you ever want to get a shuteye".

"But, but…daddy…" Mikey resorted to his cute voice, which was fatally effective against his brothers. Unfortunately, his sensei was pretty much immune to the trick, and the turtle's tone only made him chuckle in delight and amusement.

"No, 'sonny', you will do as 'daddy' says, and you as well, Raphael" he turned to his other son, who instantly groaned in irritation at the sound of his name. "Now then, if you'll excuse me, I am going to my room to rest. Better clean everything until they shine. Leonardo, make sure your brothers do as told".

"With pleasure, sensei" the blue-banded turtle replied with an equally devious smirk on his face, making his punished siblings frown.

"What are ya so happy about, Fearless? Ya do know this means that ya can't sleep, either, right?" Raph asked, using his typical annoyed voice.

"Yes, but at least I don't have to get down and dirty with the dishes and the floor, brother" Leo replied, clearly amused.

"Whatever. Hey Case, help me out with the…where did he go?" the red-clad ninja asked when he found no sign of his head-busting buddy in the room.

"Oh, he left a while ago when master Splinter mentioned 'cleaning up', bummer" Mikey answered.

"Why that sneaky little…" Raph began to feel his anger rising, but he managed to stop himself from snapping his mop, remembering his signed commitment.

"Come on, guys, if you ever want to go to bed, you'd better get things done now. We have practice tomorrow as well" Leo tried to speak with his leader tone, but he uncharacteristically and epically failed.

"I suppose you are finding our situation pretty amusing, huh, Fearless?" Raph huffed.

"To be honest, yes, yes I am" Leo replied almost immediately with a grin on his face, making Raph grunt and storm away in order to retrieve a new replacement for the snapped mop in the kitchen.

"Crud!" the hot-headed warrior exclaimed when he walked out with a new mop in hand.

"Dude, Donnie is so going to town on you once he gets back" Mikey laughed, making Raph grunt again.

"Oh yeah, I can just dump it on yer head when Brainiac gets back. Or better yet, what he doesn't know doesn't kill him, right?"

"Actually, Raph, I second that thought" Leo said, making the brother in question pale, as he directed his attention toward the floating sphere that Leatherhead had brought with him. "Didn't professor Honeycutt say that thing was a spy drone?"

Raph's eyes widened to the size of saucers upon hearing that, while Mikey doubled over and laughed like he was being mercilessly tickled. Even Leo couldn't contain his laughter when he laid eyes upon his normally rash and rebellious brother's terrified face.

"Ah crud!" Raph exclaimed in terror before hitting his face with his palm, making his brothers laugh louder.

"..."Ah crud" is the correct term for your predicament, Raphael!" came a very familiar voice from the floating contraption, much to the surprise and, in Raph's case, dread of the present turtles, "I sincerely hope you can find a safe place within the sewers where I can't locate you when I get back from my break. I'm sure Leatherhead won't mind my borrowing one of his various sledgehammers...Huh? What? You have a working prototype of a handheld plasma cannon? No way! you've got to lend me that, LH. I'm sure I can come up with something...extravagant for it. It'll be a blast".

Hearing that, Leo and Mikey burst out laughing harder, while Raph began to pace around the room, finding duct tapes to fix the broken mop.

In the shadows, master Splinter watched his sons with a happy smile on his face. After a hearty chuckle, the aged rat nodded his head in approval before settling down on his bed and falling into a nice, dreamless sleep. After all, he was pleased that he had managed to help one of his sons feel better about himself, and that was all a father could ever wish for – the happiness and satisfaction of his precious children.


	6. Quality Time

Epilogue  
Quality Time

Eight days later…In the lair...

Donatello had finally returned home from his fantastic vacation the day before, and he had told his family about all the things he had done with April, Leatherhead and professor Honeycutt in great details, well, not before giving Raphael one hell of a chase around New York City's sewer systems to test out his new "plasma cannon", all because of one broken mop.

To make things worse for the red-banded ninja, Donatello had even used Leonardo's gift – the command ticket – to order the most skilled ninja of the clan to give chase and apprehend his target. Unexpectedly, Leo seemed very eager, perhaps a bit too gleefully eager to carry out his first order from Don, much to Raph's dismay. As for Mikey, the master of nunchucks always stuck to Donnie's side, no questions asked. It was a memorable day that everyone, especially Raph, could never ever forget.

The day before

The clock showed that it was close to noon, and it was almost time for Donnie to finally return from his one-week break. In the living room of the lair, everyone was waiting expectantly for the door to open so as to welcome their genius brother and son back from his long trip.

On the floor, Leo was currently meditating with master Splinter, trying his best to block out the noise that was coming from the TV screens, as well as suppress the growing excitement of seeing his calm, soft-spoken and reasonable sibling after one hellish week of trying to stop Raph and Mikey from killing each other and making the entire lair collapse.

Luckily, he had always managed to stop every single fight the two loud turtles had initiated with the help of his sensei before any unfortunate accidents could take place. For some reason, Leo thought he was the only one to actually remember the watchful spy drone on the ceiling, beside Splinter of course.

' _I can't wait to see Donnie again_ ' Leo thought in excitement,  _'I really miss his cool head around here to help me keep those two in check and…to help keep this family and this place together'._

In the meantime, Michelangelo was sitting in front of the screens (well, the remaining screens – nobody dared to touch anything too technologically advanced for fear of facing Donatello's retribution should they break anything), trying to while away the time. The screens were playing all of his favorite hero cartoons, but for once, he wasn't paying any attention to any of them.

Mikey was also very excited about seeing his brother and best friend again after one long week. He had never realized how silent and empty the lair had become without the calm and serene olive turtle around. Though, he never said it out loud to his brothers and father, Mikey had a feeling that they, too, dearly missed Donnie's presence in the lair, even more than they could ever admit.

Now that Donatello was not here, they felt very lonely, and that nasty feeling gradually became more and more intense as the days went by. While it was true that Donatello normally made himself scarce and shut himself in his lab for days on end, but at least they knew that he was with them, thanks to the consistent and faint sounds of his hammering, welding, assembling, etc. in the lab. Without the inventor around, it was quiet, too quiet for their liking.

Now, Michelangelo, along with the others, knew a fraction of how it must have felt for Don, and he also wondered in bewilderment exactly how his genius brother could suppress his loneliness for as long as he did.

' _Man, we really should have paid more attention to Donnie's feelings_ ' Mikey thought solemnly and hung his head,  _'I should have noticed his feelings…Well, that's going to change when he's back, that I vow_ '. After that, he tried to focus on his shows, but once again, he failed to do so.

At the same time, Raphael, who seemed to be the most restless family member at the moment, was pacing around the living room impatiently, letting out soft grunts every now and then.

"What's taking him so long?" He said, "Brainiac should be back by now!"

"Calm down, Raph" Leo, having been broken out of his trance by his brother's gruff voice, coolly said, "He'll be back any moment now. Why don't you sit down and do something to while away the time?"

"Yeah, dude" Mikey chimed in, somewhat happy that someone started a conversation, "Besides, you really want to see Donnie that much?" he asked mischievously.

"Of course, I want to see him? What kind of question is that?" Raph retorted. Deep down, the hot-headed turtle knew that he was perhaps the biggest source of grief for Don with his impeccable tendency of breaking virtually everything he touched, and he was feeling somewhat guilty for all the repairs he had forced upon his understanding and patient sibling.

Raph just wanted Donnie to get back as soon as possible, so that they could hang out for a change – work on the Shell Cycle, talk about engines and similar stuff to make up for all the time he had ignored his brother's pleas for help around the lair. However, Raph seemed to have forgotten something very important.

"Dude, you really want to get chased around the sewers by Donnie with a plasma cannon that badly?" Mikey asked again, trying and failing to contain his amused snicker, which made Raph's mouth to go agape.

"Ah crud!" he muttered as the memory of the snapped mop resurfaced.

"Don't worry, Raph. I'm sure he was joking around" Leo tried to be serious, but he knew he wasn't fooling anyone with that goofy grin on his face, "How can you be scared of our sweet, peace-loving Donnie?"

"Cause it's DONNIE!" Raph yelled in Leo's face, causing Mikey to burst out laughing again, this time even harder. "When was the last he made a threat and not acted on it? I signed an agreement not to break anything, and ya agreed to his conditions of not breaking anything, which made me double guilty" Raph added, his voice trembling uncharacteristically.

Leo, at this point, simply shrugged, an act that didn't calm Raphael down in any way.

"My son, your brother is a kind and gentle soul" master Splinter said with slight amusement in his voice, "Surely there is no possible way he can ever do anything to hurt his family".

"Ya really think so, master?" Raph asked hesitantly, still not fully convinced.

"I know so, my son" Splinter replied. At this point, his sensitive ears picked up the familiar sound of the Sewer Slider parking outside the lair's main gate. "Perhaps we should let Donatello answer that question to put your mind at ease, Raphael" the aged rat added, making his sons direct their gazes towards the gate, excitement and happiness clearly present on their faces.

A few seconds later, the large gate opened, revealing the familiar sights of the purple-banded turtle, who was carrying a large bad with him, and April. The moment he laid eyes on his brothers, Donnie's face split into a very bright smile, and shone like the star on the Christmas tree. He then waved his hand at his expectant family members and walked toward them.

"Hi guys, long time no see!" he said cheerfully.

"DONNIE!" replied the three turtles as they raced to their genius brother and pulled him into a tight group hug.

"G…Guys…I need…oxygen…" Donatello said, trying to get his siblings to loosen their grip a little. He loved being hugged by his brothers in their displays of happiness, but he really had no intention on getting choked by any of them.

"Sorry, Don" Leo reacted immediately and loosened hid hold on Donatello, "We really miss you".

"I can tell" the olive genius replied with a warm smile on his face before pulling Leo closer, and the normally serious leader didn't even protest.

"Dude, How was your vacation?" Mikey asked, nuzzling his cheek on Don's face and causing him to chuckle. One week of not seeing Mikey's unpredictable and affectionate antics really made a guy, or turtle, yearn for them once again.

"It was absolutely amazing, Mikey! I'm glad you talked me into taking it, thank you" Donnie replied after kissing his baby brother on his scalp lovingly. "But, it wasn't the same without you guys around. I really missed Leo's lectures, Raph's complaints, Sensei's soap operas, and your crazy antics".

"Hey, I don't lecture" Leo protested, but his snicker gave him away.

"Oh yeah? Come to my lab and I'll show you my collection of 'Leonardo's Classic Speeches'. I have lots" Don said, making all three turtles laugh heartily.

"Glad to have you back, Don" said Raphael, Leonardo, and Michelangelo in unison.

"Thanks guys. It's really great to be home!" Donatello exclaimed, pulling them closer and taking his time to savor the moment.

Next to them, master Splinter and April watched the affectionate display with warm and proud smiles plastered on their faces.

…

"Come on Brainiac," Raph said after a while, "Ya should go rest up. I'm sure it ain't too comfy driving a car that could fly at supersonic speed in the sewers".

"How do you know that?" Donnie asked, his head tilting to one side.

"Even all-powerful Fearless here spent a miserable hour on the couch after testing prof Honeycutt's insane acceleration units. I even have pictures to prove it" Raph replied, earning a hateful glare from the leader in blue.

"I told you to get rid of them, Raph" Leo said, somewhat irritated.

"No freaking way, Leo" Raph shot back before turning to Donnie, "Maybe ya could teach me how to upload them onto yer computer and print them out as wallpapers?"

Don was visibly surprised when Raphael - the rebel, the protector, the muscle, the independent fighter, the reckless racer – asked to be taught something that wasn't included in his long list of interests. Although it was a very small and rather insignificant task, but for Don, he felt like he was receiving his immediate older brother's respect.

"Sure!" the turtle in purple beamed, making Raph and Mikey laugh. Leo simply shook his head in disapproval, but everyone in the room could easily spot the tiny amused smile that decorated his face.

"But before that, I have something for you, Raphael…" Donnie spoke after a while, making the turtle in question flinch. Donnie hardly used their full names, but when he did, well…

"Gulp, and what would that be, Donnie-boy?" Raph asked cautiously as his trained eyes surveyed the large bag that Donatello was carrying with him.

"Oh nothing much, just something I'd like to call "Revenge for the fallen mop", that's all" Don replied with a really devilish smirk on his face, making his brothers step back.

A few seconds later, the purple-clad genius opened his bag and pulled out an advanced-looking, metallic-black cannon that could possibly make the Triceratons' advanced weaponry look like a buffoonery. Don, still with that mad scientist's grin on his face, held the cannon with two hands and loaded it.

"D…Donnie, you are not seriously thinking about…" Raphael began as he warily stepped away from his normally pacifistic, and currently positively psychotic, sibling.

"Yes, I am. So I suggest you run!" Don said, cutting his brother off.

Raph looked to master Splinter for help, but the old rat wore a stunned expression on his face, one that seemed to say, " _Well, I stand corrected_ ".

"Raphael, my trigger finger is itching, so I suggest you run real far now!" Donnie suddenly spoke in an exaggerated monotone voice, causing Raph to turn back to him. Needless to be told twice, Raph bolted out of the lair and ran as fast as he possibly could, never once looking back at the turtle with the cannon behind him.

…

When Raph was out of sight, Donnie and April suddenly burst out laughing like they had finally lost it, which was pretty much the shared thought that the other mutants were having at the moment.

"I can't believe he actually fell for that" Donatello said between pants, trying to catch his breath.

"I told you it would freak him out" April added, making everyone confused.

"Donnie?" Mikey asked, carefully taking a step forward toward his brother.

"Don't worry, Mike, this thing is absolutely harmless, despite its appearance" said turtle replied, still trying to catch his breath.

"Wha…What is it then?" this time, it was Leo who raised a question. At the sound of a seemingly harmless enquiry, Donatello and April laughed even harder and high-fived each other triumphantly, much to the others' confusion.

"You want to tell them, or should I?" Don asked his fellow scientist companion.

"You should tell them, Don. It's your idea" she replied and blinked at him.

"Ahem, this, gentlemen, is a very powerful and intimidating weapon created solely for the purpose of striking lasting fear into the very hearts and souls of the enemies in…in… **water warfare** …" Don stopped there, unable to continue. At first, his family looked scared, but at that last word, the sacred expressions on their faces were gone, replaced by a dumbfounded look for Leo and Splinter, and an amused look for Mikey.

"You mean, it's a…" Mikey asked, sensing a laughter coming.

"Yep, a WATER GUN! Or better yet, a water that will never run out of juice" Don proudly exclaimed, making Mikey double over and laugh like he had never laughed before. At the same time, Leo and Splinter still wore that dumbfounded look on their faces, unable to believe that the highly advanced-looking thing Don was carrying was a kid's toy.

"You…You spent a week on that?" Leo asked in surprise.

"Of course not, Leo. This only took me about thirty minutes on the last day. Also, it is not your average water gun. There is a switch here that controls the pressure inside the cannon. If the switch is set high enough, this thing can even become a fire extinguisher that never runs out of water. Besides, this cannon can be turned into a small cube to carry around. Can you imagine how convenient this baby is?"

"Wow!" was the only thing the leader in blue could mutter. Even though Don was making something to fool around, he still thought about the practical applications of his "toy" inventions.

"How does it work, Donnie? And I mean the inner workings, I can work out the outer workings just fine" Mikey suddenly spoke, making the questioned turtle surprised. 'Did Mikey just ask me to explain how this thing worked? As in the theories and mechanics?' he wondered.

At first, Donatello was dumbfounded and silent, surprised that his least serious brother was interested in the theories behind his invention, not just the invention itself. Out of the corner of his eye, the genius suddenly caught sight of his sensei flashing him a warm smile, silently telling him to explain.

Surprise then turned into happiness and happiness to excitement in a matter of seconds. Quickly, Donatello literally shoved the exaggerated water cannon/fire extinguisher to his enquiring sibling's face and began to explain everything – from the way it absorbed moist in the air, how it converted moist into water using a cycle similar to that of rain, how it could be folded into a small cube for easy carriage,…

While Donatello was proudly and gleefully explaining every part and detail of his new toy, Leo and Mikey stood still and listened. They might not be able to understand half of what the resident genius was saying, but there was one thing they knew they clearly understood – their brother's happiness.

The way the excited inventor spoke, the way he gestured to every detail of his gun, the way he meticulously explained how to adjust the pressure inside the cannon, etc. they all radiated with so much happiness and joy, the likes of which Leo and Mikey had never seen from the normally quiet and reserved Don before. Seeing their genius brother's joy nade them smile, torn between joy and guilt.

'I _f I had known he would be like this every time we listen to his explanations, I would have never interrupted him_ ' Leo thought, taking in the contagious glee that his intelligent brother was exhibiting.

'I _'m so sorry, Donnie. From now on, I'll try to listen to you more, like you always listen to me…_ ' Mikey silently and solemnly promised, never taking his eyes off of his purple-banded brother's features.

…

"And that's all" Donatello concluded after a really informative and detailed five-minute presentation of his invention. After that, the genius took a second to survey his brothers' faces and body language.

"I'm sorry, I rambled on too much…" Don suddenly spoke after seeing how despondent both Leo and Mikey had become. In an instant, the two guilt-ridden turtles' heads shot up, and they hugged Don again, much to his surprise.

"No, Donnie, we are sorry!" Leo whispered softly in his brother's ear (or wherever his sense of hearing comes from, I know not).

"For what?" asked the bewildered olive terrapin in the middle.

"For not paying any attention to you when you speak about your passion," this time, it was Mikey, "We're really, really sorry, bro".

"Aw, Mikey, Leo, I don't hold anything against you for that, and the same with Raph as well…"

"No, of course you don't Donnie, you're just that amazing a brother" Mikey and Leo said simultaneously, making the bashful creator blush. A moment later, however, a genuine smile formed on his face.

"Okay, if you're feeling sorry, then can you help me out with something?"

"Anything, Don! Just say the word" Leo replied, happy that there was something he could do to help his brother.

"Good! I want you to help me track down Raph and capture him. He needs to be punished for breaking his agreement and my condition" Donatello said, his evil grin once again apparent on his face, slightly scaring his brothers.

"But Donnie, isn't that too little?" Leo asked again, but he was cut off when the purple-banded turtle waved his command ticket in the air, silently telling the leader in blue to comply without question.

"You're unbelievable, you know that, Don?" Leonardo shook his head slightly and said with a brotherly smile on his face.

"I know. You just told me so," Don replied and put the ticket away. "So Mikey, are you in?"

"Dude, do you even have to ask? Of course I'm in. I'll get the camera" with that said, the energetic ninja disappeared into his room and reappeared moments later with the said equipment in his hand.

"Alright, team, grab your cannons in the Sewer Slider, we're going Raph-hunting" Donnie exclaimed and loaded his gun again.

"You know where he is?"

"Please Leo, he can run and hide inside Santa's house and I can still track him down".

"Alright then, let's go!" Leo said, unable to hide his excitement. It had been a while since he last spent some quality time with his brothers on a game like this, and Donnie's idea of entertainment was absolutely terrific. Though it was at Raph's expense, the red-banded turtle kind of deserved it for breaking his agreement and one of Don's conditions. Besides, everyone knew Raph was motivated to run for real, like his life was on the line, which was pretty much the truth in his head.

"Sensei, April, we're off!" Mikey exclaimed before bolting out of the lair.

Leonardo and Donatello bowed their heads respectfully and waited for their father to return the gesture.

"Happy hunting, my sons" the aged master said with amusement in his tone, causing his sons to chuckle.

"We will, sensei" Donnie replied, "Oh, and…Thank you for everything, father".

Master Splinter's smile grew wider when his intelligent son spoke those words of gratitude. After a nod, he gestured for them to leave, and they did just that.

Once the boys were no longer within sight, April walked to Splinter's side and spoke.

"There is never a dull moment when the guys are together, huh?" she said with a smile on her face, happy and proud to have such wonderful beings as her friends.

"No, there certainly is not!" the aged rat laughed heartily and invited the human female inside to watch some soap operas with him, which she reluctantly agreed, for she had promised a certain turtle she would keep Splinter company while the guys were out, relaxing and playing to their hearts' content.


End file.
